I notice this a lot in the tear downs that become huge homes too big for the lot with the big garage door. The builders build the cheapest house they can. A friend bought one of these and for the next 6 months they spent tons of money getting the house wired the way they wanted.

We have overheads everywhere but the living room (which has an outlet controlled by a switch so it's as easy to turn the main lamp on as it is to turn on an overhead.

I like this arrangement--we have other floor lamps in the living room so we can have lighting where it's needed without causing glare on the tv.

Everywhere else we have the convenience of overhead lights.

Having built houses, I would say it is a money saving move on the part of the builder.

I don't mind them at all, so long as the style of the light is fitting and the light bulbs themselves produce a soft lift. I do think, also, that there should be additional sources of light in the room--table lamps, sconces, etc., because nothing is more frustrating that sitting on a comfy chair in a corner and not having enough light to read!

I haven't encountered this issue. It would be maddening, indeed.

We did add an additional light fixture when we expanded a room because the single light didn't reach that new part of the room, so it seemed dim. The contractor didn't seem to think that was out of the ordinary.

Wow. I wonder about the cost and inconvenience of having to have them put in. Yikes! Either that or lamp hell.

Sorry, OP.

I don't know, but I hate it when there is no overhead light. We recently moved into a house with no overhead lights, and one of the first things we did was put in overhead lights in all the bedrooms and the living room.

I think overhead lighting is considered harsh. I hate having to go around and turn on a bunch of lamps. When we renovated we put in a couple of recessed spot lights around the edges of the living room and dining room. They shine against the wall/art but brighten the space considerably without being a center fixture.

Why are so many home built with no fixtures on the ceiling requiring the use of lamps? I find this to be annoying since the room is more cluttered with lamps. Someone said that it is the preference of decorators to have a bare ceiling and use lamps for lighting.